Whether cities are bike and pedestrian friendly is gaining currency, especially as they compete for young knowledge workers and offer healthy solutions to our car-dominated landscape.

The Jackson Administration included a line item in the city’s five-year capital budget to improve conditions for cyclists and pedestrians, Planning Director Bob Brown said at the Mayor's Bicycle & Pedestrian Advisory Committee’s fall 2006 meeting. Previously, bike/ped improvements on all city projects required a separate request.

The city budgeted $12.84 million for projects, including those in its Master Bikeway Plan and to enhance connections from neighborhoods to the Towpath Trail as it's extended north to the Flats.

Making bike/ped improvements part of the budget will translate immediately into more Bike Routes—suggested routes usually marked with Bike Route or Share the Road signs—on city streets. Bike lanes and off-street trail projects have been identified as well, but take a little longer because they require more input from traffic engineers, Brown said.

Bottom line—a dedicated funding stream will bring bike/pedestrian improvements in Cleveland into reality.

See the projects to be funded by Cleveland's Capital bikeway plan by clicking on the link below.